Knights of the White Sepulchre
The Knights of the White Sepulchre is Catholic fraternal service organization (Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies, 99-100). About The group takes it name from the White Sepulchre of Armbruster, Pennsylvania, a plaster cast of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Every October the city hosts the society's annual convention, where members don their suits of armor and march around chanting "Ha-Du-Ku-Ba-Saïd-Na" (translation: "This is surely the White Sepulchre"). When the members reach Armbruster's White Sepulchre, the tomb is found to be full of beer and members partake until "they topple with a jingly crash". Members, said to be in the vanguard of the Army of Truth, are referred to as God's Shock Troops ans said to carry the "twin swords of Catholic Action and Community Reaction". History The founding year is unknown but its members were okay being called "God's Panzer Division" up to 1939. Councils Membership specifics are unknown but there are contingents in, or near: * Armbruster, Pennsylvania * Strunk, Nebraska * Lumber Falls, Colorado Inspiration The knights are a Bellairsian jab at both the Knights of Columbus and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. The Knights of Columbus, formed in 1882, originally served as a mutual benefit society to working class and immigrant Catholics in the United States, but it developed into a fraternal benefit society dedicated to providing charitable services, including war and disaster relief, actively defending Catholicism in various nations, and promoting Catholic educationWikipedia: Knights of Columbus. The Order of the Holy Sepulchre, a prestigious Catholic chivalric order of Knighthood, traces its roots to circa 1099 under the Frankish Duke Godfrey of Bouillon, one of the leaders of the First Crusade and first ruler of the Kingdom of JerusalemWikipedia: Order of the Holy Sepulchre. "Whited sepulcher" is a Biblical phrase (Matthew 23:27) where Jesus says to the Pharisees Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything uncleanBible Gateway: Matthew 23:27.. The term whited means the same thing as whitewashedWiktionary: Whitewash, and sepulchres are cavernous rock-cut spaces for intermentWiktionary: Sepulchre; the phrase describes a hypocrite, meaning the men were respectable on the outside but rotten on the insideWiktionary: Whited sepulchre. Panzer is German for “armor,” specifically a German World War II tank. In turn, a panzer division is the armored units employed by German forces in World War IIWikipedia: Panzer. Bowen says he is reminded of a line in the popular hymn, "For Christ the King", written by Daniel A. Lord, and thinks it's possible Bellairs was referring to it with his "Army of Truth" line. An army of youth flying the standards of Truth, We’re fighting for Christ, the Lord. Heads lifted high, Catholic Action our cry, And the Cross our only sword. On Earth’s battlefield Never a vantage we’ll yield As dauntlessly on we swing. "Ha-Du-Ku-Ba-Saïd-Na" doesn't appear to mean anything unless it’s an abbreviation of something. Bowen says repeating it several times rapidly out loud yielded nothing intelligibleCorrespondence with Charles Bowen., which would have been interesting to hear as well. References Category:Things Category:Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies content